The Erdtree Is A LIE ➤ Elden Ring Lore Hunting

The Erdtree is just a BIG FAT PHONEY! Messmer will reveal the TRUTH!
ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree takes players beyond the Lands Between to explore the Land of Shadow, a completely new world from ELDEN RING. Players can seamlessly travel back and forth between its vast maps interspersed with diverse situations and meticulous dungeons where menacing enemies roam.
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*The comment section is not the place for posting long, drawn-out theories. Please join the discord and use the proper channels for that👍*
#shadowoftheerdtree #eldenringlore #agtjake

[@sk8legendz]

Ngl I would love an Elden Ring book Flesh all this out into a good 750-1000 page book. The lore is just too damn enjoyable. Best world ive explored since A Galaxy Far Far Away, Tamriel. and Middle Earth

[@colbyras]

Would be awesome if they just release whatever George RR Martin wrote whenever they’re done w DLC. Let us connect the dots between where his characters leave off and where we find them in game

[@sk8legendz]

@colbyras thatd be great!

[@mrgauth]

I want a book more than the DLC. I know, blasphemy

[@sk8legendz]

@mrgauth Not at all. Actually, I would prefer a book myself. The video games are fun. But there's something about a book. Plus reading lore in the woods like Iji sounds fun lol

[@ktaylor3439]

@mrgauth, same here... Recussants of the DLC Been reading Malazan book of the Fallen series, and love the complex world building and intreague. Think the Elden Ring base story is easily as complex and fascinating. Plus I'm not sure I'll ever get past Mohg to find out for myself 😅

[@JoshuaAndres]

You know I’m starting to think George RR Martin isn’t the biggest fan of religion and/or monarchies

[@theholypopechodeii4367]

That is true, but it was like that with all other soulsborne games. In them, there is a strong tradition of faith enemies and characters being blind or straight up covering their eyes, pretty strongly calling out blind faith in religion, and/or implying that one has to turn a blind eye to gain power in a religious system. Sekiro I can't remember, but the monks of the senpou temple were absolutely portrayed as terrible people. Bloodborne has the whole healing church doing a lot to fuck up the world. For the monarchies, the person who really propogated the issues of the souls world was the ultimate monarch, gwyn, and while those who oppose gwyn and his descendants aren't always good people, his monarchy is consistently terrible.

[@JoshuaAndres]

@@theholypopechodeii4367 bloodborne seems to take inspiration from branches of Catholic culture, specifically the branches that believe they do actually consume the body and blood of Jesus Christ during their sacrament

[@rexex345]

So the so the not a fan religion thing actually comes more from a Japanese or rather Buddhist mentality that sees the issues with specifically organised religion. It's the same mentality that has long created Final Fantasy's standpoint as well, that religion isn't a bad thing, but the organisations that lead it can or will become corrupt in some way and/or will taint their own teachings to suit their agendas.

[@Deadman1000]

I always noticed Godwyn doesn't look like he's struggling in the picture of his death. It's almost as if he knows what's happening to some degree and accepted it. The guy befriended a dragon and is spoken of as a legend and he doesn't attempt to fight back in his last moments.

[@skyetic5775]

could be that, or he was simply caught off guard because the people that attacked him were the black knives and as we know they have invisibility cloaks.

[@warlordjr.jr.]

​@@skyetic5775Godwyn beat the ancient dragon invasion of Lyndell, petrified Gransax and made Fortisax surrender; what's overpowering that strength? Not a Black Knife Assassin imo. I think there's more merit to him knowingly sacrificing himself for what he believed were Marika's experiment, believeing the Greater Will could ressurect him or he'd simply die and be free from worry anyway. Nobody imagined the best the Greater Will could manage was keeping his body alive but unable to reconnect his soul. It revealed the inherit failure of the Golden Order, and it's why Marika commits the Shattering.

[@PeachT87]

@@warlordjr.jr. on top of that, when you actually defeat a demigod it says they are "felled" and not "defeated" which I found personally to be very interesting terminology. Of course it evokes more tree symbolism, but to me there's almost an implication that they're down but not out. Because some things can be "slain" and that is more final. But because specific enemies and demigods become "felled", it leads me to believe that their corporeal bodies are gone but obviously their souls remain in some capacity, and we know that going back to the Erd tree is the burial Orthodoxy. I do believe Godwyn was "slain" and not "felled", and you are correct in your assertion that Godwyn may have not necessarily fought back because he was unaware of Ranni's secret treachery.

[@wolfiemuse]

@@warlordjr.jr. we have no idea what petrified Gransax, please don’t claim that Godwyn did it. Also, there were like 5 Black Knife Assassins, not one.

[@potatocakeful]

@@wolfiemuse While there were 5, Blaidd took on at least 4 by himself. If Blaidd can take on that many, Godwyn should be able to manage 5 with no issues.

[@W1nDs0R]

Absolutely insane that fromsofts writers made something that is still being desciphered two years on, with so many questions left to awnsers. Honestly godly story telling, in a way never seen at this level before

[@Nemo-Nihil]

People are still analyzing Dark Souls and Bloodborne

[@theiberianbadger0123]

@@Nemo-NihilI think the difference with elden ring is simply the vast timeline and history that has been packed into the story.

[@cameronsmith2245]

It probably didn't hurt that they brought on one of the most renowned fantasy authors of this generation

[@SirZipper]

@@theiberianbadger0123 Not really, Dark souls has just as vast a timeline. Both series follow very similar themes, the only real difference in the story being how the gods of each function. In both series you're pretty much just showing up at the end of eras to clean up old enemies that have weakened and are no longer in their prime. It'd be nice if the DLC took us back to a timeline that was less in ruin.

[@theiberianbadger0123]

@@SirZipper dark souls has 3 games worth. I’m more comparing the games in the sense that elden ring as a singular game vs the 3 dark souls games in terms of the amount of lore and story in them respectively.

[@nicholasloduca6668]

The transition at 1:11, just *chef's kiss*. With Godwyn and Ranni being half siblings, the idea of Godwyn being her Elden Lord sounds like something George RR Martin would write 😂

[@erikedwardstrio]

Martin worked on the game’s story. I just found this out! Pretty awesome.

[@anonfinally1692]

I think when Marika was having a hard time winning against Caria/Liurnia she got desperate and thought the solution was just to destroy her enemy from within. So she devised a plan, but this plan is kind of blasphemous as it involves fragmenting yourself like how I believe Malenia fragmented herself with Millicent as her "pride". Removing this pride because she was about to face Radahn, said to be one of the most powerful demigods, so she will not hesitate to use unprideful powers (such as unleashing the full power of Scarlet Rot) just to win. Marika needs someone to infiltrate the Carian royalty but this task cannot be given to anyone else. That's why she divided herself to birth Radagon, the side of herself that values the Golden Order the most. This is an insurance that whatever Radagon does he will never betray the Golden Order. But the plan backfired because now we have a Marika that has less love for the Golden Order and a Radagon, a sleeper agent, who loves it above anything else even more than his family with Rennala explaining how he left them easily. Marika now longing to end her wars of unifying everything under the rule of the Erdtree but this does not exactly mean under the Golden Order. I think it is easier to replace than the Erdtree. Now she might have no direct control on Radagon so she only knows he serves the Golden Order but she doesn't know if he still serves her. So she recalls Radagon back to forge herself whole again. But this could've been a trigger. Ranni now is under the control of the Two Fingers, her father left and her mother is turning insane. Her family shattered and her fate sealed to walk the same path as the woman who destroyed her life. So Ranni, along with her brothers Rykard and Radahn devised a plan to exact revenge to upend everything from the Fingers to the Erdtree and everything in between. Rykard helps Ranni to plan the Night of Black Knives and Radahn halted the stars to pause Ranni's fate of being a God until she finishes their revenge unbeknownst to him that Ranni's fate was actually finding the Fingerslaying Blade all along. But Malenia happened and Radahn's mind fades because of the Scarlet Rot. That's why I feel like the order of killing Radahn hurts Ranni but it is a kind of mercy and a necessary evil. Now, first meeting Ranni she uses sleep, an ability more associated with Miquella. Also she knows Torrent and the steed's former master. What if Miquella and Ranni coerced Marika to disband the Golden Order (Miquella having the power to influence others or charm them also would want to destabilize the Erdtree for his Haligtree)? Marika now convinced, tricks Maliketh and helps Ranni steal a fragment of Destined Death. Maybe she had to trick Maliketh instead of asking for it directly because Maliketh might suspect something that could be tied directly to Marika or maybe Maliketh will not approve of the plan. The Night of the Black Knives happen, and every piece is in place. Except, Ranni betrays Marika. Instead of granting Godwyn true death she tried to circumvent "death of soul and body" by killing Godwyn's soul, dealing a solid blow not only to the Golden Order but turning Marika's Golden Child and firstborn into something horrible. Then she offers her body to be released from the clutches of the Fingers. Two birds. This could explain why: - Marika went berserk and shattered the Elden Ring - Why Radagon was trying to mend it (he was loyal until the end) - Why Black Knife Assassins was in Caria's estate near the end of Ranni's questline. They were close to Marika and could have been sent by her to hunt Ranni down but when they arrived at the estate only Blaidd and Iji was there and Ranni's plan was already in full bloom. - Why Radahn halted the stars even though he is a fan of Godfrey So sorry for the long text and lack of good formatting. Thank you for reading.

[@joshkomo7870]

This is an excellent analysis of .. really a synopsis of the past lore as I understand it too. I agree that the Ranni/Miquella connection is very strong, due to sleep and torrent, yes. Likely it was written into the lore that they had met. I believe that somewhere written into the past lore, a fact lost to us and a large part of Ranni going down her dark path is discovering that she IS siblings with Golden Order folks. I'm convinced that Miquella and Ranni knew the same revelation that we found out. Old news to them: Marika is Radagon. The initial catalyst was revenge: "You took my father, hurt my mother". The revelation that her dad WAS Marika....well...if I was Ranni, I'd feel further betrayed and that'd cement my schemes to upend everything. They know of each other's sibling status. Perhaps that gave Ranni confidence in her half-death going successfully since Empyreans/Kin of Marika have....multifaceted properties. Probably a better word for that, but there it is. Can't further defend my logic ~ Almost more of a feeling.

[@JSON_bourne]

Some really good ideas here. I'm not the most knowledgeable so a few things didn't make sense. Hopefully this idea will get made into a full video by some one

[@anonfinally1692]

Miquella's side and his true intenions: I just remembered: Ranni's path to become God made her kill her Two Fingers and usurp the Age of the Erdtree. Through her questline she seems to understand the steps all along. But what if Miquella also knows how his godhood comes? What if Miquella's path is to go to the Land of the Shadow as one of the steps to his ascendance? Marika began there as well so there could be something there. And in accordance to my theory before, what if the reason he helped Ranni tricking Marika is because he is eliminating competition. Three Empyreans and one God: - Miquella helps Ranni succeed with the Night of the Black Knives. What if he knows Ranni plans on killing herself as well so he helps her thinking she isn't interested in godhood and he is unaware of Ranni's true plan. - Miquella helps Malenia get rid of her Scarlet Rot. What if Malenia's path to godhood was giving in to the God of Rot but Miquella succeeds in removing it? - Marika the current God is weakened at least by Ranni's betrayal according to my speculation above so again Miquella weakens another competition. Miquella has been said in the DLC as terrifying yet what we see in the base game is a kind person who gives abundance but maybe behind the scene is a dark secret. Miquella is also described as intelligent couple that with his charisma I can't help but feel like these is the trait of sociopaths. Sorry if this is too harsh English is not my best language. I think Miquella is in the Land of Shadow because he is ascending to godhood. Maybe even being kidnapped by Mohg is part of his plan. Remember the lines "I presume you are keen to know just what kind Miquella is doing here.", him giving us torrent and now guiding us to the Land of the Shadow gives me the vibe that Miquella chose us to become his Elden Lord for his new Age. Maybe another ending will be added by the DLC? Again thank you for reading. Also I noticed in the new trailer the knight holding the pot has pillars with twist design behind him and I feel like I also saw it in a part of Volcano Manor. And the lord of the manor is snake the same things Mesmer is associated. But this is just speculation.

[@johnokazaki7967]

Now u may be unto something But Miquella Loved Godwyn... So no, not that part

[@anonfinally1692]

@@johnokazaki7967 You are correct yes she did love Godwyn that is the hole in this theory. But I believe Marika loves herself more, that she uses others and exploits or cruel to them as long as she can use them. Like Godfrey, the Tarnished, the Fire Giant, Hewg. But yes this is the biggest hole in the theory. I hope the DLC shows us more. I am so excited, I will respec to the Kung Fu build like in the trailer as soon as the DLC release.

[@maxil8988]

Oh my god, the idea that the drapes are a giant mimic veil held by the divine towers is really REALLY interesting. Gives me Dark Souls 3 Ringed City vibes with the egg held by Filianore conceiling the truth

[@americanstruggler587]

I thought the Egg was just holding time together?

[@phisx333]

Yes it is!!! And if you draw a line between the towers they make a perfect hexagram, above the cloud on the map. Maybe that is The Land of Shadows. Very very interesting new theories.

[@maxil8988]

@@americanstruggler587 Im not sure

[@mancallednobody]

BEAUTIFUL INTERPLAY WITH THE MUSIC! Bravo!

[@colorays]

Dude. Great work. The edit of this video is really nice and it flows well. Great music choices too. And of course some great insights on the lore. Excited for the dlc!

[@andrewevitts2870]

The premise and idea seems to draw from The Old Hunters. Going to a hidden realm to expose the sins of the prevailing Order.

[@MasterDuelMax]

And Ringed City, and Artorias, and so on. Its a theme in Fromsoft DLCs to go back and give context.

[@itsChanandler]

I think Marika started having doubts or at least her doubts grew stronger when she 1.had twin omens. 2.Godwyn reaching adulthood without being selected as an empyrian 3.Tried to selfcest and ended up having twin empyreans but both afflicted with curses. I don’t think he wanted to kill Godwyn. I think Ranni deceived her by saying something like she can give Godwyn her empyreanhood by doing the rite or something like that

[@Bhoddisatva]

A little irony in the fact I've only played the game for a few hours but am deeply invested in its lore the various content creators come up with on KZbin.

[@jpavielle]

I was heavily invested in the lore way before I started to play the game.

[@gipsymelody1268]

Oh yeah you will not get the story if you just play the game! 😂😂😂 The main reason between 2 story point you have 10 hours gameplay and fight… and at least 100 deaths 😅 So very hard to follow the story and lore because between 2 point have many gameplay… Even I see most of people not realizing how hora loux portrait is hanging in Stormveil castle’s main dinner room! 😂

[@BDeerhead]

One thing I don't understand is that; if Marika and Radagon being one person is supposed to be a secret that isn't widely known, why are the children of Rennala and Radagon regarded as Demigods? They were both champions, nothing more. And yet their children were given thrones alongside Marika's children, regarded as Demigods, and given their own fragments of the Elden Ring. Why? Because they were the previous children of Marika's new husband? I mean it certainly makes sense once you know that Radagon is Marika. But if they were trying to keep that a secret, including Radagon's first children would certainly raise some eyebrows.

[@johnvoices4087]

A great explanation is that the demigods we know are shown to us in reverse. Miquella and Melania came first, Rykard, Radhan and Ranni came second, and Mohg and Morgott came last. Godwyn is NOT a child of Marika and Godfrey. He's never stated as such. Even Godfrey is only stated as being the patriarch of the Golden Lineage... not its bloodline father. A patriarch is defined as a father figure, not necessarily blood related. It seems to be in the other direction, but makes more sense when you think of how this family likes to hide its secrets and its bloodline.

[@fourdayz1414]

I don’t remember where it’s said (maybe Enia?) but i think to the rest of society, Rennala’s kids were elevated the _social status_ of a demigod when their father married Marika, however, they were always demigods. Only those within their circles would know the truth And that one sculptor that figured it out

[@gofish2365]

Great stuff Jake. Your editing is 1st class. Thank you for your hard work.

[@daniellassander]

Its possible that Marika wanted to turn Goldwyn into a true lord of the dead with his spirit intact. She and her most favored son would be the arbiters of life and death and as such an unstoppable force no one could compete with not even the outer gods as Goldwyn could easily give them death and no power in Marikas perfect order. No formless mother, no outer gods, she could even have usurped the elden beast with such a move and gain total control over everything in the lands between. There are a few things that stands out to me, it is Messmers clearly christian motif and Marikas christian motif with jesus. She looks to be crucified with a spear puncturing her side just like jesus, and Messmer with the snakes and the firei is satan.. It is also possible that Messmer is the formless mother, he doesnt want to show himself for who he is and turns Mohg into his servant for more influence in Marikas perfect order, he clearly is aware of what is going on there somehow.

[@kithugomusic]

I don’t see why Marika would be seeking to achieve by killing Godwyn - THE golden boi. I can see her working with Ranni to devise the night of the black knives, and I would then rather assume that the death of Godwyn was unplanned by part of Marika, and that made her unravel and destroy the Elden ring. Very nice visuals and music choice throughout the video! Some parts (through my phone) made me have to listen hard when there was a lot of higher pitch synth/piano/violin stuff competing with spoken voices. Be careful of that fine line when the music is overtaking. Great content overall!

[@gogauze]

Ya know? Idk why it's only occurring to me now-so, bear with me-but, what if the planned target of the Night of Black Knives wasn't originally Godwyn? Like, maybe Marika really did conspire with Ranni to supply the assassin's with access to a high ranking target; but, Ranni deceived her for reasons, or the BKA's literally just had to pivot when they failed to get their original god-adjacent goose. For all we know, Marika could have ordered the hit for Radagon. She seems like are was already very done with his bs, and Ranni could have played the "I'm down for some patricide because he really messed up my mom" card. Then, nature took it's effed up course. I would die laughing.

[@kithugomusic]

@@gogauze I mean to be fair, a lot of Marika’s plans seems to blow up in her face. Even removing death from the Elden Ring. Like now she has death “teeming” with life, growing (somehow) all over her kingdom.. It seems very likely to me that the plan with the Night of the black knifes was something else than killing Godwyn, if Marika’s involved. I don’t know what their high priority target would be. I guess it could just be the start chaos among Marika’s lesser children. If Radagon was already fused with Marika, setting assassins of to kill him would then she is also death sentencing herself right? So I wonder how this game to pass if that was the case. I also wonder if when Marika is in control of the body, can Radagon sense what is happening? Like did Radagon know about this? 👀

[@gogauze]

@@kithugomusic given the weird metaphysics of the game, maybe both cursemarks were meant to go on the same duo god body; the soul killer on Radagon's form, and the body killer on the other. Which might have freed Marika from the greater will, killed Radagon for good, and Ranni lying through her teeth in agreeing to succeed her as the new god-maybe with the Tarnished revival plan waiting on the wings as a parting gift, so are had a chance to get out when she was ready. Only for Ranni pull an 11th hour back stab, get everything she wanted, and spits the people she personally and ideologically despised. Finally, when Marika realizes that she's been betrayed and lost everything, she decides to take the nuclear spite option out, punish Radagon in the process, and then puts her Tarnished plan back on the front burner. Idk, it all screams GRRM style betrayal, and I'm sure I'm wrong. But, I'm interested to see what the DLC story ends up clarifying.

[@LetMeSoloThem.]

Such a great video, awesome work Jake 😊 love how you use the NPC dialogue to explain the point you’re making, super impactful 😊

[@N0lanN_]

Idk man, Godwyn was kind of Ranni’s only possible target anyways. He wasn’t even an Empyrian, Elden Lord or even Elden Lord Candidate. The rest of the Demigods are either her direct siblings, two emprisonned Omens that she likely never heard about, and the fearsome Empyrean Duo. While “the Marika wanted to kill Godwyn” theory is interesting I also still don’t see any qualifications that Godwyn had that would push Marika to want to kill him. He is not even the unwanted child, the ghost that says it is the weeping pennincula where there is the Impaler Catacomb I think, that’s more towards Messmer to me To me the reason why Maliketh feel like his sister betrayed him is because she left him alone to deal with the Deathroot crisis while she ran away from his point of view by breaking the Elden Ring, committing the greatest sin that goes against everything she forced him to do for the “greater good” (keeping the rune of death). Now he must bear the cross of his own sin alone, his failure

[@Solar_WolfGaming]

Flawed beings expecting other flawed beings to be perfect is a flaw in of itself, is it not? To become enlightened is to suffer the cycle while also breaking the cycle. To be a truly good person one must face their inner monsters and become them. It's a paradox NOT a lie - that's what gold represents in the great work represented through alchemy. In Shadow Work you face the dragon and rest in its arms to ascend to embody the Philosopher's Stone. This is what's happening in the game, the process of the great work through all the paradoxes and failures and weaknesses within ourselves until the great work is done. Such is life in this spiritual framework.

[@aaronyaegar1557]

You’re really improving on these vids man, great script

[@TheBryanNetwork]

Wow Jake, great video and edit work!

[@naaryanpunnia9682]

high quality video as usual thanks

[@angelcm156]

Splendid video, can't wait for the DLC, it's going to be something else

[@cha0ss849]

Fye vidddd u rlly levelling up for the recent content. Love the dlc vids keep them coming!

[@javierabonza569]

This video was beautifully made. 👍🏼

[@davidz1592]

Love this, great work!

[@foey7560]

I don't think Marika have enough motivation to murder Godwyn. She wanted the order to be replaced. Yes. As Marika's own words said, any of her children could be a lord or a god. The Golden Order will be replaced if Ranni or Miquella be the next god. Godwyn's death wasn't necessary for the Lands Between to change orders. Ranni had enough motivation, because Godwyn and Miquella were very close. It seemed to her that Miquella was more likely to marry Godwyn and become the god and then brandish his order. So she and her brothers who shared Carian blood rebelled against Leyndell so that they have a chance to forge their own order.

[@Darkwolf523]

Roderika looks like she’s going to play an important role.

[@zohebsaikia]

Great editing.. What a cool transitions 👍

[@johnathanmotta9545]

Messimir impaled radagon at 3:25 ..I believe you're correct, "the shadow of the end tree" is the truth thats been hidden.

[@sweatychaw3105]

You know, I remember the Ranni and Marika team up theory from really early on in the games release and it’s died down but I still think it makes sense and I’m glad you brought it up now.

[@nico_russ246]

Awesome vid, so much work !

[@simongomes7250]

Marika was questioning the Greater will, not the golden order. When she removed the rune of death from the Elden ring, that was when the Golden order was created.

[@courtneycherry5582]

Do we know who created the golden order, or is that still in the air? If Marika was so good I do wonder why she was punished for breaking the ring. Unless the three fingers got involved?

[@agtjake]

"I declare mine intent to search the depths of the Golden Order"

[@kreadapelu8813]

The Golden Order is both the name of a cult and an alternative name for the Elden Ring. I can go into a whole bunch of other stuff, I go way off the rails in my overall pet theory. But I’ll just do a little drip of it now. So, we have the Eternal Cities, deep under ground. Living there we find the Nox and they came from the Numen in some way. They live and experiment with making and manipulating life. But these are stars and moons loving people. The Numen have surface settlements, astrology towers and such. Rennala seem to have come from the Numen. It may be biologically, culturally, or as the result of life making experiments. Either way, Rennala didn’t just control Liurnia when she left the mountaintops of the giants. She ruled the entire Lands Between, I’m trying to keep this short so just accept the premise or ask why I think so. Anywho, so why are the Numen playing with life? They are seldom born. It seems as though the Numen have been a female only species that can mate with other critters but the children produced are very rarely Numen. Their life research was focused on energies of the moons, the stars, and the primeval current. What was produced? Obviously the silver tears, mimics. Albinaurics. Nightfolk.. Crystalians. Claymen. Onyx and Alabaster Lords. All these things and more. But nothing would yield a Numen child, and many of their creations simply could not reproduce even among each other. Doing their stuff, the Numen seemed to have little interest in being discovered, at least, what they were actually doing was kept secret. But the low population of Numen would be a problem, they were on the verge of extinction. They are long lived, now. We’re they always? I posit, no. This long life business came with the advent of dolls and puppets. Also while researching a means to live long enough to solve their reproduction problem also led to the discover of the value of Grace. They may have known of grace all along but there was so insignificant an amount in people that it was discounted. By the time they realized they needed more, someone else had already created a grace farming system and there was a massive source of grace in Farum Azula. Again, low population and a measure of distrust of cosmic entities, the Numen dared not just pop up and demand the Elden Ring. One group began working on a means of covert infiltration, the result was dragonkin, a failure. But maybe not. Another group of researchers took a different route, played the role of convert to one of the cults being formed by various Will-plants (I’ll explain if you want). Marika “happened to” encountered a missionary of the what would be the Erdtree. The Fingers had already set up a satisfactory grace farming system for the Elden Beast but Marika convinced them that she could improve it. I should have mentioned earlier, where the Numen came from they may have had knowledge of cosmic entities like the Elden Beast but even if not, their experiments had already shown what proximity to great sources of magic can change a person entirely. If the magic is infused with the will of another, it may even be able to enslave you. Yaddayaddayadda. Marika get the Elden Ring. Placidusax’s Now Fled God vanishes from history. Marika gives Destined Death to the Gloam Eyed Queen to study to make a weapon. Two Fingers get suspicious. Marika deploys Maliketh to take DD from GEQ. GEQ is defeated and disappears from history. This was Marika’s betrayal against Maliketh. She convinced him to only seal DD to a weapon, that would be enough. Except it wasn’t. GEQ was not slain, only defeated. In her defeat she took the knowledge of DD she had obtained to join with other Numen and Allie’s to further develop tools to purge the Lands Between of the Elden Beast. This was crucial, they needed grace but they would not be slaves. Blah blah. Radagon brings a hunk of grace to Rennala, of course they make it seem like Marika was doing conquest, but they are actually colleagues and they need privacy. Radagon and Rennala add grace to their life magic and it works! Out pops Ranni, empyrean.. numen. Radagon bundles up a new great rune inside a bunch of Erdtree juice as a safety precaution, to prevent the Elden Beast or two fingers from gaining access to Rennala. Radagon goes back to Leyndell and does stuff. Rennala brings the baby making magic to the Numen, Nox, and… she does further research to create the Birthing Drop to complete the Albinauric project. Anyways. Something about a lady dragon that can take human form, almost as if it were a shapeshifter of some sort. The dragonkin project didn’t just end, not entirely. There was at least one success. Then Miquella comes. Numen and male. It seems the solution Radagon and Rennala came up with truly fixed the Numen reproductive issue. Even if they couldn’t defeat the Elden Beast, they did not need the grace if they can just do the business. But Miquella is a good dude and he comes up with unalloyed gold, grace in its purest form. Filtered, unmolested by the Elden Beast. This is incoherent and all…, Tl/Dr Marika wanted to study the Golden Order (ring) to understand how grace can be shaped into runes and made into enchantments. She sought out its source, free of the influence of the Elden Beast, cosmic entities, and of other Will-Plants like the Erdtree.

[@ironmonkey349]

@@kreadapelu8813 actually its more a reference to Jungian psychology as searching the depth of her psyche aka the golden order. Radagon as her 2nd consort represents the second stage of the animus, the war hero, the poet, the fundamentalist version of her order. We the Tarnished represent the 3rd stage of the animus, the teacher, who seeks within the order to seek the truth to give her a second ego death aka the burning of the erdtree and a new order. We are her 3rd consort. And i think its also why we work in parallel to Guideon, also why he is the 3rd last boss of the game. Then we kill her first and second animus and reforge her psyche with w/e truth we find. I think the dlc will not give us a new ending but help us choose the right ending.

[@kreadapelu8813]

I mean, sure. Yeah. But like… Big scary magic object that can warp the very laws of nature and is bound to a cosmic entity that feeds on souls that is currently eating the Lands Between.. Marika literally houses this thing inside herself and still seeks to find a way to kill the beast and save her people without it knowing… and her allies are terrified. A single mistake and they could make things worse. Daunting task.

[@devinguy]

Damn dude your editing and scripts are getting gooooood. Great work!

[@IYENSS]

Damn bro great video lots of new interesting theories being brought up!

[@galaxsija4591]

great choice of music i love it mate!!!

[@vhwilde4951]

WHERES THE CONNECTION BETWEEN GODWYNS DEATH AND WHY MARIKA BROKE THE ELDEN RING? Breaking the Elden Ring did not break the Golden Order nor did it sever the ties of the world to the Elden Beast, Radagon was able to fix what he could. So breaking the Elden Ring itself wouldn’t be aligned with Ranni’s (or the Numen’s) goal because you need at least two other runes in order to get her ending. Marika DELAYED the Numens plan. I believe that Marika did a lot of terrible things for the Numens, until they planned to assassinate her favorite child. I believe that THAT is the reason why Marika broke the Elden Ring. She no longer wished to be manipulated

[@JoaoVitor-ys3us]

How have i never heard about you before, what an amazing video! The editing, the music, the theories, congrats man

[@Cg51355]

Wow I made a reddit post about a month ago covering a lot of the things in this video. Good to see it on KZbin now too. Also you made some good points I didn't consider.

[@joshkomo7870]

Man, beautiful video~!! I usually just rant about lore, but incase it isn't blaringly obvious to you, your lore vids, though somewhat seldom are crafted together exceedingly better with each one. That shot transition, pre and post burning Erdtree was *chefs kiss*. The music choice was impactful. Can't wait to fuck things up in the Land of Shadows.

[@hungpham3574]

This has been very cinematic. Thank you, it's beautiful

[@eprimchad2576]

I think marika has a snake just like mesmer but is using the mimics veil to hide it so it just looks like her dress or whatever is always twisting around her in imagery

[@cullysloy2705]

in my spare time I try to find the location where Godwyn was sacrificed.

[@darioernesto7056]

Love this types of vids

[@olivalu3022]

Such a beautiful video! please someone tell me what is the music at the last minutes?

[@PBart7]

It's in the description

[@KrillinInTheNameOf]

Damn bro - you are truly talented. Incredibly well produced.

[@theghosty99]

FINALLY someone else pieced together the truth behind the Night of the Black Knives! I've been talking about this for months on the ER lore sub and you're the first person I've seen put together the same clues.

[@theghosty99]

Also: Did you catch Maliketh's Remembrance mentions that he's loyal to her "despite her betrayal"? What betrayal could they mean except that she was involved in stealing part of the Rune of Death, the thing he is protecting?

[@GOONGGWP]

Where is that voice line from 1:04 from? I don't seem to remember. Such an incredible delivery.

[@LmaoDrown]

I cant remember his name but I think its the blindfolded guy in yellow at the roundtable that sells you incantations (also part of goldmasks quest)

[@GOONGGWP]

@@LmaoDrown Brother Corwhyn or something oooo ok ty

[@fleetstreet11]

Rykard (before feeding himself to Eiglay) to the Golden Order: "You sit on a throne of lies!!"

[@T-Jack733]

The devin towers having what looks like shadow dripping from thin air makes sense. And the only place the Crumbling City can be seen in the lands between is the devin tower where Melaina's great ruin is. Where its damaged on the side facing the city. The city should be visible from the mountain tops of the giant but its not.

[@seanb2995]

the treee is also a shade color similar to Godrey shade

[@vasilius7041]

Another interesting thing is how we become impaled when inflicted with Deathblight, maybe somehow making a connection with Messmer and the Shadow realm upon infliction. And yes, the giants at the MT look like to be impaled by Messmer's spear, but also look how the spears are thorny and with branches, like the spears from deathblight. Maybe we will get a connection between the force that is Deathblight and Messmer in the DLC, and possibly how and why it consumes Godwyn after his death.

[@redx3009]

LFG! Great theory, the type that's game changing. About time that somebody talked about Marika's mischief. I would go even further and suggest that Ranni's secret mentor was Marika The Eternal.

[@SnowMacaco]

Nice effects bro

[@user-ij1mp9mj2h]

quality content with fantastic music and editing

[@punkyrockerz]

Woah, I hadn't thought about Ranni's two fingers crash landing. You're probably right about that!

[@MidnightatMidian]

I think ''Marika own's words'' with ''blind beliefs'' and ''to search the depths of the golden order'', imply that Marika and her follower were somehow tricked into false beliefs. And after realising it, their only remaining hope were to find the roots or origins of those beliefs, their real meanings. Maybe they were cursed and now they have to find a way to alleviate or survive the curse. Maybe it's the fact that with Godwyn's death, Marika had shattered the elden ring in an act of desperation because Godwyn's death had triggered the point of no-return of the curse.

[@doughstroyergaming]

This was great keep it up jake

[@demonbasher23]

I remember thinking this at one point when i first played the game but theres too manny factors and questions which lead me to suggest otherwise. Ranni is far more loyal to her mother(rennalla) than say marika/radagon. I dont recall any lore or info referencing Ranni talking about or with radagon let alone marika, which thinking about it as im typing it now may suggest she didnt meet radagon during her child birth. anyways Why would she work with maraka/radagon after they screwed the carians royals after radagon left the rayalucaria. Turtle pope does harper on about how much of a sin it is to break a vow and they pretty much done that after forging an alliance, learning magic of thr carians and then Effing off back to the Llyndell. Why kill godwyn really? The game implys that it was godwyns death which cause marikas "madness" however after you give gideon the miquella info he says "perhaps the queens sorrow was justified" clearly not aluding to godwyns death, but nore so miquella "failure" of growning a new halig tree/order Ranni doesnt free herself from the golden order by the black night, shes only separates her physical essence. She much resume the stsrs to continue her fate. Wouldnt it make more sense to kill marika or obtaining the finger slayer blade before hand. The more you think if the lore the more your head explodes 🤯. I like to think, miqulla is manipulating moghwyn to sacrifice silver albunica blood to grow the erd tree. Melanias rot poisened the og halig tree. Which upset marika because that was the real contingency to upheave the GW inflence And melina, miqulla and ranni and rykard are all working together to slay the eldrich overlords that are trying to control the lands between everthing 😅 whist redahn just wants everything to stay how it is Boom

[@amirgh1900]

Great video sir i enjoyed every second of it thank you

[@phisx333]

This game is a standard soulslike game with open world properties, BUT the story the infinite connections all the theories are facinating, every day i had to wathc a new video about something new someone found. Tha biggest saddnes of my life that non of my friends plays the game and i cant talk about it with them :D Big thanks to you Jake your videos got so premium i cant describe. I rewatched your video about Elden ring saved you and i hope everything is okay since that video.

[@JonnyTCS]

The idea that the shadowlands are located in the center of the map in the ocean area, and hidden by a veil draped by the towers (although cool) has always fallen flat for me. Think about it - the branches of the Erdtree extend so far out laterally that even while standing in Limgrave, they appear to reach to directly above our heads. If we are to believe that the expansion takes place in that ocean area, even closer to the tree, then it should theoretically appear even closer with the branches absolutely towering over the entire area. Several shots from the trailer dont seem to show the branches extending even close to how far they should be. Spatially it just doesnt seem to make sense. Either the shadowlands are much more vast and extend further out than the Lands Between (at least in on cardinal direction), or the tree just seems to appear smaller than the Erdtree currently in the game. I implore you to compare the shot from 0:48 of the official gameplay reveal trailer on one hand, and just a simple look at the Erdtree while standing in Limgrave on the other. For example, standing at the Summonwater Village site of grace in Limgrave, the Erdtree seems to reach out laterally just as far, or even farther. Id love to be proven wrong once the expansion rolls around though cause this is the coolest theory tbh. Sidenote I thought of while typing this out, if we have the Shadowlands and the Lands Between, does that imply a third? Maybe some Land of Light? Always thought the name Lands Between was weird but this would make sense

[@imaflymydroneatit]

Beautiful cinematography

[@krisp2781]

My thinking is what if when marika started to dive deeper into the golden order, thus figuring out what the elden ring truly was. So seeing her son as the most likely to become elden lord and daughter to succeed her she planned to free them both trusting that once she was incapacitated Ranni could take over. Also the reason maliketh was given the runs of death was specifically so that none of the demigods could reform the true elden ring as he was the grim reaper.

[@dackeryman]

Incredible video!!!

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

Storm caller church, it's at the peak of Altus and next to Sainted heros grave. There is a sword monument that states, Godwyn earned Fortisax respect by fighting to his last. Across the monument are Graves leading to the church, with a black knife assassin and ancient dragon overlooking the same area. In the church there is a circle of gravel stone surrounding a sacred tear below a statue of Radagon, and a chest hidden behind the entrance containing dragonbolt blessing. I see Frankenstein. Someone used the regenerative power of the blessing, dragon scale gravel stone and a lightning incantation, to recreate Godwyn. I think the sacred tear symbolizes godwyns soul put in stone and zapped by lightning to create Frankenstein.

[@brandonholt6717]

I think the idyllic representation of Godwyn as a perfect golden child is another lie revealed by his fish tailed corpse. I don’t think that tail is some deformation that happened after his death but something that was always there and, like his brothers and other beings in the lands between who had similar traits, would have been reviled by the golden order dogmatists if the truth had been known.

[@baker3BAKER]

This many likes and comments in 2 hours. The Elden Ring is strong as ever!! Great vid

[@zackdoom]

I believe that godwin was to die but have body in tact to maybe stand a chance against the elden beast To take it further this may be why the tarnished were sent away, why else would they need to be strong

[@fundamental6983]

Has anyone caught the giant anaconda behind Marika in her statue that’s very similar to Messmer’s snake??

[@Acusumano25]

hey dude i just tried entering your discord but the link was broken? anywho - your video is piquing my interest and i wanted to discuss a theory ive been proofreading the past few days. where can i get your thoughts on my wall of text? haha

[@TheSUGA1202]

The shadow lands look somewhat similar to the painted world.

[@fritota2934]

I always thought that radagon was a manifestation of marikas faith in the golden order once she started to lose here faith when looking more into it. Like the Greater WIll brought him into being. As she is trying to break the elden ring and radagon is trying to repair it. (though I could see it being implemented by using a silver tear - but that confuses me bc when we enter the final fight you actively watch marika turn into radagon?) I also believe that marika and ranni conspired against the two fingers and greater will, but since marika had radagon and was closely monitored, ranni had to do the heavy lifting. Since Ranni was in line to be Marika's successor, and Ranni didn't want it, and I think Marika didn't want to lose her godhood either or she wanted Godwyn to rule. Either way, Ranni would have to die since she wanted to be rid of the two fingers. Ranni would steal destined death and Marika would supply her assassins to wield the rune to help Ranni. My theory is Ranni then betrayed Marika and found a way to kill herself in flesh only, then also destroyed the hope of the golden order, Godwyn. Godwyn not apparently struggling against the black knifes could be attributed to his general demeanor. I think this because Godwyn was a bringer of peace (dragons) and always seemed to have a good heart (as he seemed to be a very well liked demigod - "sweet lordling") I think she gambled it working the way it did, but to her the risk was worth it. To me, that would then explain why the Black knife assassins are then found dead at Rannis rise and why they killed Rannis advisor, Iji. As far as Godwyn spreading death, I think its because he either subconsciously wants a true death, or through living in death himself - he has come to sympathize with those who do as well and become their lord/prince/god. Which would make sense to me again, because he is portrayed of having a very caring heart for others. I love the theory of him uncovering the veil to the land of shadows. To go off of that, I think thats how Miquella might have discovered it??? Since Miquella also tried to find a way to give Godwyn a true death, in doing so stumbled upon the land of shadow?? Realizing he had to be in a deep sleep in order to accomplish it (st trina manifestation and inserting himself in the haligtree actions additional support?) ?? Im here for whatever the DLC decides to throw at us

[@ianwilliams2632]

Dark Souls had unanswered questions at the end of the last DLC, but each game explored human nature in a way that really moved me. The problem I have with ER lore is that it's a mess of ambiguous royal politics without a clear timeline for key events, so we're stuck analysing archaeology rather than taking deeply meaningful stories from it. But you have convinced me that the DLC could tie things together in a way that makes me love ER after 2 years of disappointment. Good one, subscribed.

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

Godwyn's Deathroot spreads and seems to "reach" or "grope" (to borrow a term from Ranni) out toward the Dead, bringing them back halfway from Death. What if Godwyn the Golden was supposed to die as a martyr for Destined Death and then seek out the Dead as a golden root, bringing them back to life more fully, not unlike how the Erdtree supposedly acts as a conduit from death to rebirth? What if Godwyn's death was supposed to create a new Erdtree whereby the transmigration of souls could continue, free of the original Erdtree (and thus the Elden Beast)? The cursemark of Death might have been an Oroborus had Ranni not coopted the ceremony.

[@user-rg4bo4mi9c]

what is that sword we see the player avatar have equipped? if anyone knows can you tell me?

[@alexeinuville2555]

Melina has burned before, she has the scars. When did she burned and for whom? Did she helped Vyke when he was known as the Roundtable Knigh/Lord Contender? Did she not burned to death because Vyke accepted the Flame of Frenzy so she abandoned him for not being fit to be a Lord anymore? Does Lansseax attacks us because she wants to protect her beloved Leyndell knights and she learned from her old friend Vyke that a Tarnished will become corrupt so she would not let another powerful Tarnished near the Erdtree again? So many questions

[@Lumigle]

10:36 That was so funny xDD

[@SenUchitana]

recently Addicted to the Lore of Elden Ring

[@qHugz]

It says about goldwyn being the first demi gods to die. But when we go and kill all the demi gods for their runs, how do we kill them? Do we actually kill them like goldwyn or are they like a tarnished and just get reborn by grace? Is there any lore on this?

[@demigod_inc]

What if Godwin is Messmer? His soul went beyond the veil and cleaned up for his mother solidifying his own order

[@wesbraun32]

Incredible video dude. Even though it’s RIGHT THERE the fact that Ranni’s two fingers were suspended with the stars and then in turn crashed to the ground after killing Radahn….what a thought!

[@skyline3449]

While I agree with these points on Marika and Ranni, I think that Miquella bewitched Ranni and had her convince Marika that the golden order should be no longer. I think we see this with how Ranni gives the tarnished Miquella spirit bell-there some scheming going on between these too

[@fahimtajwaar2521]

The fact that when Ranni visits the Kale's church, she puts Kale and the Donkey to sleep with purple mist, made me think Ranni was close enough to Miquella to potentially have been enlightened on St. Trina and attain sleep magic. That is wild speculation though.

[@bguinet]

My hypothesis is that Radagon began to form within Marika when she began to question the Greater Will. The Greater Will probably did this and had some sort of influence over her which Marika could never fully escape having ascended into Godhood. I think this is in part why so many demigods had to divest themselves to rid themselves of whatever this will was, Marika having ascended already may have accepted some part of this will which could not be undone. Godwyn was chosen to be killed because he was the next most likely to ascend to Godhood and eventually replace Marika, not to be Elden Lord. Then there is the shattering. I think with the Elden Ring complete Radagons take over was eventually going to come to pass but through shattering it broke the vessel, herself and therefore Radagon’s eventual take over. So in some sense the Greater Will had its 2 best prospects stripped away from grace

[@bathsaltshero]

what if she was trying to rebirth the great tree by sacrificing godwyn and miquella/melina were sent to make the great tree survive for however long the new one needed to take to be birthed?

[@mike20pr]

For a moment I thought this was about a certain Golden Spear from Lies of P in Elden Ring lol

[@dirmusloner7963]

I tottaly agree that from gameplay we start to unveil some troublesome truths about golden order but I think all of our questions will be answered if Miyazagi wanted to do a dlc about gloam eyed queen and we start to unveil what clearly happened before Golden Order is the law in the lands between. About the shadow of the Erdtree In a poem that is uploaded in the official page of the game we read that Miquella in order to set foot in the land of shadow we divest (left behind) himself (ranni did the same) his strength (no needles?), his lineage (that alone means that the Miquella we find in the land of shadow has absolutely nothing to do with the Miquella we know as an Empyryan and chosen to ascend God hood) and all things golden (that also clears that the Miquella we find in the land of shadow clearly poses in every display of his actions the Golden Order of Marika) we maybe get a grasp of MARIKA'S past as in this poem was said that land of shadow was the first place that goddess marika first set foot, that means that in land of shadow marika is already ascended to Godhood. We may get a grasp how, but still I think the questions will be risen. As For Miquella, in the base game we knew that he is kind and knows how to make others follow him. Messmer on the other gmhand came from the word mesmerizing a word that describes Miquella in the base game we played.

[@Jari_Kir]

One big question is what happened first, did Marika first shatter the Elden Ring or did Godwyn die first? It could be that Marika shattered the Elden Ring out of grief after her son was murdered. Or maybe she doubted the Greater Will and planned sacrificing her son to "create" an Empyrian, unbound by the Greater Will. That's what Ranni is. I can imagine that there was no chance of escape from the Greater Will for Marika, and maybe that's why she decided to put all the pieces in place to create a scenario, where the Greater Will could be banished from the world. I think assisting the latter interpretation is that we know Marika as a schemer and manipulator. Be it the conquest of Caria, the exile of the Tarnished or the existence of the Land of Shadow. So I doubt she would be gullible enough to allow Ranni to betray their plan to murder Godwyn. We also see Marika being a very prideful individual, for who the idea "if I have to go down, I am pulling you with me" would certainly fit. In that sense, an Empyrian unbound from the Greater Will would be something she wants. And last but not least, Ranni's ritual to free herself from her own flesh seemed to require some serious precision. At the exact same time, a mirrored lethal wound was inflicted on both of them. I don't think this would have been possible without the Black Knifes knowing the plan. And since they are Numen, you could make the case that they might be a contact of Marika, and not Ranni, which would make Marika an accomplice.

[@jamie8703]

I feel like we should have gotten a rot ending from millicent's questline in either ending of the quest you gain miquella's needle which is ..... fine but a mending rune would have been a better reward.

[@minhsonpham6709]

I swear if the gigantic living corpse of Godwyn starts moving and swinging at me in the DLC I'm gonna wet myself :))))

[@asd1245d]

Perhaps Marika and Ranni killed Godwyn to weaponize Death as a being capable to confront the Greater Will.

[@friendlyauthor7435]

I like to think that radagon and marika were separate entities BEFORE they got married, since radagon was with rennala for a good while before he was forced to become marika's consort. They also could have been cursed?

[@TheDean1020]

I think Radagon has always been Marika. I forget when, but there is dialogue stating that it was odd that Radagon, a simple champion, was sent back to Leyndell to be with Marika. It feels like Radagon was purposely sent to war with/learn from the Carians. It also explains how Ranni is an imperium and born into imperium body. Would seem weird if the status of demigod was given to her after her birth and not something inherent in her. Unsure exactly what Marika and Radagon are, but I like to think it is something similar to the D twins: two different bodies that share one soul

[@TheDean1020]

It's from Miriel: "The mystery endures, to this day... As to why Lord Radagon would cast Lady Rennala aside... and moreover...why a mere champion would be chosen for the seat of Elden Lord".

[@BrassPetals3Voices]

One secret of Marika is a half secret: her Omen children. I think she has three others that were hidden in plain sight, largely ignored or disregarded. The G,M,R naming convention is used for significant characters. That said, there are the three Demihuman Queens: Gilika, Maggie and Margot. One sits in a regal pose at Altus Plateau, one receives magic training at Mt. Gelmir Hermit Village and the other is found far underground in Volcano Cave at Mt. Gelmir. They have the G, M, M names as do Godwyn, Mohg and Morgott. I doubt the similarities in the names are an oversight. Gilika (girl named for Marika)/Godwyn (boy named for Godfrey), and Maggie and Margot / Mohg and Morgott. The Lion Dancer at the head wearing the mask is a Demihuman Queen. Same features (esp. the teeth) and bite/slam attacks. I think a lot will be revealed. Whatever the case, can’t wait to see!

[@wolfiemuse]

6:50 this is the only part I disagree with and seems like is still not agreed upon by the community - I think of the words “Golden Order” as having a few meanings, depending on context. To me, when used generally or to refer to the creation of her Order, the Golden Order existed *far, far before* Destined Death was removed from the Elden Ring. By the logic that there already *was* an Elden Ring to pull the Rune of Death out of, that means there was an Order before the rune was pulled out. And since the Orders seem to be characterized by who their leader is, I would argue that pre-removal is just as much the Golden Order as the Golden Order we play the game in. There were just some differences, like Rune of Death being in or not, like the Age of Plenty which was probably during pre-removal, etc. Kind of like your bedroom when you change the wallpaper. It’s still your bedroom but it’s a little different than it was before. I think that basically as soon as the Erdtree was planted/was strong enough to support Marika’s strength and claim to the throne to where she could actually assert herself as the only god of the lands; that was the beginning of the Golden Order. At least, that’s how I feel about it. Otherwise we’re gonna need a bunch of names to come up with for different sections of time in Marika’s Order that weren’t the Golden Order, but were still under Marika. Either it’s all the Golden Order, or we seperate the Golden Order into different smaller bits on the timeline, figure out where they go on the timeline, and come up with apt names for them. Which is a lot of work 😅 I would just as soon call it all the Golden Order and just specify what time period you’re talking about roughly

[@asia911]

So I'm guessing the painting is of Fia. Miquella look totally golden and he is going for the Duskborn ending by the look of the end of the DLC trailer.

[@kyleharrison713]

The Walking Mausoleum's with soulless demi-gods have got to be of Marika's doing. An attempt to rectify Godwyn's blight. I mean with the Black-Knife Assassins on the run who else was able to kill demi-gods at that point?

[@Reifan1283]

I think she shattered it because her view on the order changed, at the height of their power, the golden order was nigh all powerful, everyone was immortal, the Demi gods had nigh godhood and the armies were unstoppable yet Godwyn, marika’s most loved child, was killed right under her nose, this might have shattered her view and what he thought on the order, causing her to realise the order wasn’t as invincible as she thought it was, leading to doubt and then the shattering. This also explains why Ranni chose Godwyn to die, if all that was required for the ritual was a soul of a Demi god, why wasn’t someone like Godrick (who no one liked) killed instead, Ranni knew that Godwyn’s death would cause doubt in marika, destroying the order and making way for Ranni’s order of stars

[@Dustywhoads]

Seem like the only child Marika had that maybe didnt have an affliction AND followed the golden order was Godwyn and he got merked. She snapped after

[@LordLobo52]

Wouldnt Godwyns soul death be the oppostite of Rannis body death, resulting where his body lives on as does Rannis soul? Didnt Rannis plan it for that purpose